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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. court — for sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. kick — in football
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. roll — a list
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — of law
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. roll — a cake
  18. scale — in music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. court — of a king
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. drill — the tool
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com